St Mary & All Saints, Lambourne, Essex

St Mary & All Saints, Lambourne, Essex.  (c) Philip McDonnell, 2018

We took advantage of the recent October sunshine and went for another of our little jaunts into the Essex countryside.  Lambourne isn't actually that far from us but we have never turned down Church Lane (off the Ongar Road) to take a look.  And it's quite a meander to get to the church...but definitely worth it.

The first thing you notice as you approach is that the church has been rendered at some point in its past but, unusually, has been painted and is kept in good condition.  So many rendered churches are literally rendered ugly because they just look like concrete blocks.  Lambourne Church, I said to my wife as we approached, reminded me of a German kirche.

Anglo-Norman door arch in the North wall.
(c)Philip McDonnell, 2018

The second thing you see as you pull up on the verge - if you're something of an architecture nerd like me - is a blocked up Norman door arch (above).  That, own its own merit, was definitely a reason to park and investigate further and to our joy - or mine, at least - the church was open and it is quite a gem.

As you walk into the churchyard, one of the things you notice is that it is manicured.  Where once stood mature conifers, they have been cut down almost to cylinder hedging - and it is very attractive.

Entering in through the nave, the first sight to greet you is the enormous chancel arch.  But this is no Romanesque or Gothic arch that you would normally expect.  No, this is what architects call a basket handle arch (anse de panier in French) and it is quite fabulous with its monstrous faux corbels (see below).

The chancel arch. (c) Philip McDonnell, 2018

A decorative nave beam with a somewhat skewed
 and decorated kingpost.  (c) Philip McDonnell, 2018

Of course, the arch is just a boxing and plaster moulding.  The structural element is probably just a beam concealed by a fabulous piece of Georgian decoration.  You can see less decorative beams bridging the chancel further toward the altar.

Elsewhere, there are features that have been exposed during restoration such as the image of St Christopher on the south wall.  This is a glimpse of how the pre-Dissolution/pre-Puritan church would have looked throughout.

St Christopher wall painting. (c) Philip McDonnell, 2018

There are other frescos from later periods that another visitor who was evidently well-versed in the church's past said changed from wall to wall.

One feature exposed recently (that I didn't photograph) was the exposure of what was most likely the piscina for holy water in the pre-Dissolution church or possibly a confessio where there may have been relics.  It was only exposed when the metalwork in a wall-mounted memorial started to self-destruct from rust and needed to be removed.  Whether it will be left exposed or covered again once the memorial is restored, I don't know.

Finally, here is the window above the altar in the east end of the chancel and one of the restored stained glass panels in the south wall of the chancel.

If you get a chance, make a visit.